'Saturday Night Live' Recap - John Goodman & Kings of Leon

Blockbuster,

You youngin’s might not know, but John Goodman is one of the best and busiest Saturday Night Live hosts of all time. He hosted 12 times between ’89 and ’01 and is only behind Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin in terms of hosts with the most shows under their belt. Goodman has created many memorable SNL characters and starred in many great SNL skits but most young people only know Goodman as the voice of that blue furred Sully and the guy who starred in that pretty terribly Flintstones movie. But in the ‘90s he was the star of a very successful sitcom and a bone fide SNL all-star. His last hosting gig was in 2001, not long after 9/11. I recently dug up that episode in the deep recesses of the internet and, yes, it was as dated as you’d think a post-9/11 show might be. I mean, there was an entire sketch (and not a terrible one to boot) about average folks whose lives have been ruined because they have names like Al Gezzera and Al Kyda. Anywho, it was clear that Goodman had a connection with the ‘90s cast as he frequently collaborated with them, but now all but Meyers is gone, so it’ll be most interesting to see how Goodman blends in with the current cast.

Like always, I’ll be writing the recaps “live,” meaning I’ll watch the sketch and immediately write a short blurb reviewing and recapping it. For each segment, I’ll rate it on a scale of 0-5 stars. At the end of the piece, I’ll share some quick overall thoughts and the best/worst sketch of the night.

Cold Open: * * *
First of all, wasn’t there already a cold open mocking a sign language interpreter at a presidential speech? I mean, I guess the Nelson Mandela incident warrens getting the SNLtreatment, but I feel like we’ve already seen this scenario played out before to better effect (not that the aforementioned Hurricane Sandy sketch was that good either). But no mind. This cold open was silly and fun, full of Pharaoh’s great Obama impression and some amusing Kenan Thompson shenanigans. The pace seemed a tad slow for the start of the show but thankfully picked up when Angela Merkel showed up. She is a great comic creation in the hands of Kate McKinnon and saves this sketch from being forgotten by the time the monologue starts.

Opening Monologue: * * ½
After reminding us that he’s been absent for so long because he “had to work,” Goodman invites Thompson onto the stage to sing a forgettably bland ditty called “All I Want For Christmas Is Booty.” That’s about it. Goodman had good energy and seemed genuinely happy to be back, but the song didn’t really contain any jokes beside its somewhat racy title and Goodman barely played off Thompson at all. Not a terribly way to start the show, but an odd choice for sure.

Guy Fieri’s Full Throttle Christmas Special: * * * *
I know this was just another “let’s see how many cast members we can get to do impressions” sketch and I’m usually somewhat hard on those. I know that this reincarnation, hosted by the Food Network’s Guy Fieri, wasn’t partially funny or memorable, that the impressions relied too heavily on hair/make-up/wardrobe and that I’ll probably look back at this recap in the Spring and think “I gave that four stars?” But it made me laugh. A lot. Perhaps this is ‘cause I’m a bit of a Food Network junkie and Moynihan’s Fieri just tickles my fancy. Perhaps it was McKinnon’s Big Ang impression, the hilarious Pawn Stars bit or the cameo by Kings of Leon as the Duck Dynasty guys. I was told early on this season by another SNL recapper to trust me instincts and my instincts told me that I laughed more in that 90 second bit than during all of the Josh Hutcherson episode. Hell, maybe its just me but, what can I say, the guy that puts “the ham in ‘fa-ham-ily” just slays me.

Holiday Pageant: * * * * ½
This sketch had a very simple, silly premise and made it work pretty flawlessly. A community doctor joins three other folks to preform a snowflake-themed dance at a Christmas pageant. But once they take the stage, each begins voicing their doubts about the dance via voice over. Sort of like the Morning Miami sketch earlier this season, this skit kept building until a pretty hilarious climax. It might not be remembered by the end of the year, but it had great energy and a funny pay off.

Three Wise Guys: * * ½
Hey! What if Goodman, Stallone and De Niro were the three wise guys by way of New Jersey. This sketch seemed right out of a mid-90s rerun for some reason, which isn’t exactly a criticism but not really a compliment either. Here to plug Grudge Match Stallone and De Niro join Goodman in a sketch was that alternated between some genuinely funny wordplay and other jokes that were staler than last year’s uneaten fruit cake. It didn’t help that the delivery from these three veteran actors was so stilted and awkward that the pace never got any more energetic that a meander.

Weekend Update: * * * * ½
We all knew we were gonna see SNLrespond to the Megyn Kelly black Santa story, so Thompson appearing as Kris Kringle wasn’t exactly a shocker. But the obvious set-up was negated by some very strong writing (“You know how many presents I got to deliver? I can’t be pulled over every 10 minutes!”) and a great performance by Thompson who, by the way, is EVERYWHERE tonight. After that we got (what is possibly the finale of) Drunk Uncle. Sort of like the Santa bit, Drunk Uncle was entirely expected and a bit overdone by this point. But, unlike most repeated SNL bits, Drunk Uncle just keeps getting stronger with every outing. This one featured some of the Uncle’s best pontifications (“We got Black Friday now. Wasn’t February enough?”) and a funny cameo from Goodman as his Drunker Uncle. Throw in some solid Update jokes too and you got a very, very good WU.

Civil Suit: * * *
There weren’t really any jokes here except: John Goodman looks funny in drag. He plays Genevieve, a flirty woman who is suing her employee for firing her for being “too hot.” Killam, Bennett and Goodman are good here, but the sketch was one-note and forgettable at best.

Fireman School Visit: * * *
Nasim Pedrad, who’s been AWOL all night, returns as Shallon, the middle-schooler she debuted on the Edward Norton episode. Back then, I called character a bit annoying and one-note. Shallon got a bit better the second time around, and I always enjoy Pedrad’s energy, but this bit never took off the way I think it should have.

Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas: * * *
You know those awful Hallmark holiday movies? I bet late one night at the SNL offices, one writer was flipping around his TV, stumbled onto a Hallmark Holiday movie called Fir Crazy (yes, folks, that’s a real movie) and thought “Hey, what a stupid name! We could make a sketch about that!” Some of the titles they came up with were funny (Elf With A Shelf made me laugh), but seemed they all seemed a bit too safe and uninspired, like they came from one of those Twitter hashtag games. I’m also sort of surprised no one has yet to produce a movie called Scrooge, Jr though, with or without Manny.

The Christmas Whistle: ½
I can’t remember a single TCM sketch I could even remotely tolerate. This was no exception. What exactly was this? There wasn’t a funny original premise or any real semblance of humor. It gave me a headache and flashbacks to when I played recorder in the middle school. I’d rather watch the entire On Dasher, On Danza film than see any more of this skit.

H&M Shopping: * * * *
This is probably the closest we’ve come to a Lonely Island-esque short this season. I’m not sure H&M was funnier than Pharaoh’s “Fox” video a few weeks ago (and it definitely wasn’t as funny as something like the Blockbuster bit), but I dug the video’s infectious energy and ‘90s-tastic design.

Donnelly’s: * * * * ½
I’ve always enjoyed these series of increasingly bizarre sketches about two very desperate and lonely folks at a bar’s last call. Goodman was the perfect foil for McKinnon and their comic energy just exploded off the screen. By the time she made a whip cream beard for him and started her “cat orgasm” noises, I was laughing more than I’ve done in the last few episodes combined. (I just realized that, years from now, when anybody Google’s my name, an article with the words “cat orgasm” comes up. Oy vey).

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Best Sketch: There was, perhaps surprisingly, many good moments to choose from Holiday Pageant to Update to the H&M video, but the absurd energy of Donnelly’s made it a stand-out.

Worst Sketch: That sketch that shall not be named involving a whistle.

Musical Guest: Kings Of Leon
I’m a fan of Kings of Leon. They are a very solid, Southern-inspired rock band in a musical landscape where their sound is, sadly, unique. KoL’s first song “Temple,” didn’t quite have the oomph of, say, “Sex on Fire,” but sounded good and was performed well, especially by gravelly-voiced lead singer Caleb Followill. “Wait For Me,” their second was a bit more subdued but stronger and more memorable. The KoL gang seemed to be a bit sleepier than most SNL musical acts, but what they lacked in performance they more than made up for in musicality.

Overall Thoughts: After a few forgettable SNLepisodes, the seminal New York sketch show returns to form with a very solid, funny episode. While Goodman didn’t add anything revolutionary to the preceeding, he flourish in sketches like Donnelly’s and even in lackluster ones like Civil Suit. Sure, this was a dead show when it comes to showing off the current cast (Thompson had a killer week but most of the new cast members were totally missing), but the writing was quite strong and, unlike past weeks, contained sketches I’ll remember by the end of the month.

Next Week: The SNL power couple Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake return to H8 to host/perform for the show’s Christmas show.